The voting process to pick the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has been altered due to hacking alerts. According to reports, voting for the UK PM has been kept on hold as threat reports from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spy agency confirmed that the results might get tampered with.
Tory leadership ballot papers were kept on hold due to security concerns, The Telegraph reported. Postal ballots will arrive on August 11 after advanced security measures are added. Extra security measures were put in place by the (GCHQ) spy agency to prevent further tampering.
Even though the party’s headquarters reaffirmed the delay, they could not give any more details. The party will make further decisions upon consulting the same with the GCHQ. The voting was to be done between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Liz has served as Secretary for Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs, while Rishi served as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Around 160,000 Conservative members are to vote for the next UK PM, and the results are expected to be out on September 5. The next PM will succeed Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. The voting was earlier speculated to be done via post or online. An email was sent to members stating that after the postal votes are received, the member’s online codes will be deactivated to curb further threats.
Cybersecurity has become an increasing concern, so the National Cyber Security Center has maintained continuous communications with the political parties. They want to ensure that the process is foolproof and that any risk is avoided.
A National Cyber Security Center spokesperson clarified that they are clear about defending the UK democratic and electoral processes as a priority for the NCSC. They are working closely with all the Parliamentary political parties, local authorities, and members of the parliament. Those members who do not receive a ballot pack by August 11 are asked to contact the party, as stated in an email to the members.
